The body fluid mode on the Sysmex XE-5000 automated hematology analyzer was evaluated on 99 body fluids and 60 cerebrospinal fluids. Erythrocyte and leukocyte numeration was compared to microscopic counts on Fuchs-Rosenthal chambers. Differentiation of mononuclear
(MN) and polymorphonuclear (PMN) cells on the XE-5000 was compared to manual differential on cytospin slides. A good agreement was found between the XE-5000 and the manual method with correlation coefficients more than 0.8 for erythrocyte counts, leukocyte counts and leukocyte differentiation in most types of body fluids. The functional sensitivity limit (i.e., within run precision more than 20%) was reached for red blood cell counts more than
400/ L and white blood cell counts more than 30/ L. Carry over was negligible and linearity was adequate for as low as 400 erythrocytes/ L and 30 leucocytes/ L. Our results demonstrate
that the automated body fluid analysis on the XE-5000 is an acceptable alternative to the microscopic reference method for erythrocyte and leukocyte numeration as well as MN and
PMN differential for most body fluids including cerebrospinal fluids.